Crimes of the Heart
by Koukla22
Summary: Hermione's haunted past sends her running into Sirius' arms. She gives him her body though her love belongs to her husband.  But Sirius wants more... he wants it all... he wants everything she has to give.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER – ****All things Harry Potter are property of JK Rowling**

**A/N: **This was intended as a one-shot, but if enough people are interested then I will consider writing a full story. So be sure to review with your input!

**Warning****– **Lots of Smut. Beware.

**Crimes of the Heart.**

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She threw her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist. He secured her in his arms as he carried her into his bedroom slamming the door closed behind them.

In the velvety darkness their lips met in a scorching kiss.

She opened her mouth to grant him further access. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip and she tilted her head to deepen the kiss. He hadn't shaved and his stubble was rough against her cheek.

Making his way nimbly through the darkness, he let her fall onto the bed with a bounce. Climbing upon the bed after her he knelt between her legs as she lay wantonly on her back gazing up at him with lustful eyes.

Spreading her legs apart, he lowered himself over her and began running his tongue down her chest and placed a kiss where the fabric of her shirt hindered his exploration.

Her body had been explored by him on many occasions but he relished in discovering it in new ways every time they met.

She reached her hands up and yanked his shirt open, buttons flew every where and could be heard bouncing, rolling and scattering across the wooden floor.

"Where did you tell him you were going?" He whispered roughly into her ear as he pulled her sweater over her head.

"I said, I... ahhh…. I told him I was going to my parent's house… mmmm," She fought to find words as his breath delighted the sensitive skin of her throat.

"How much time do we have?" He asked, as he eased downwards and nipped the soft skin of her breast with his teeth.

She gasped and pulled his hips against hers tightly, grinding herself against him. The warm sensation between her legs was mounting with arousal. Oh, the effect this man had on her.

"I don't want to think about him now, Sirius," She said breathlessly.

He didn't argue. He captured her mouth in another searing kiss and groaned loudly into her mouth when she reached down and clutched his manhood through his jeans, his erection straining against the confining fabric.

In one swift movement, her bra was deposited on the floor and he took one of her pink nipples into his mouth as he massaged her other breast with his large hand.

Hermione continued her teasing of his member. She slowly unzipped his jeans and, slipping her hand beneath his boxers, she wrapped her fingers around his long, thick manhood. Excruciatingly slowly, she began sliding her hand up and down his length.

Sirius squeezed her breast even tighter and growled in appreciation of her touch. The extended periods of time between their trysts made it far too difficult to control himself when they were finally together again.

" Oh Gods, Mione… if you keep that up, this won't last long."

She smiled from her place beneath him and kissed his chest and rolled over to lay on top of him. She continued her ministrations on his shoulders and neck before working her way back down his body pausing on her way to lick his navel.

As she neared her destination, leaving a trail of blistering kisses, she pulled his jeans along with his boxers down over his hips and onto the floor. She smirked in pleasure when she saw his member ready for her.

Sirius lay back on the pillow, his breathing already ragged from the anticipation of another incredible night with this amazing woman.

He watched as she lowered her mouth over him, holding his gaze all the while. She teased her tongue around the tip as she stroked him with her small hands. She slowly took him into her mouth, reveling in the response he gave. She grew even wetter at the prospect of being intimate with him once more.

Placing his hands on her shoulders, Sirius steered Hermione towards him and in one swift movement, he was atop her once more.

He yanked her skirt down and felt his erection tighten even more when he saw that she was not wearing panties.

He looked down at her and she shrugged coyly, sensing his question.

The two lovers lay together naked on the satin sheets… the snow outside chilled the room but neither was aware of anything but the expanse of skin and warmth of the person beside them.

Sirius inched his hand down her flat stomach and dipped one finger into her wet center. She gasped with pleasure and he pushed a second finger into her. He closed his eyes and fought to restrain himself… she was so tight, he had to ready her for he was much larger than average.

It had been a month since they had last met and Sirius was quickly nearing a point where he wasn't sure if he could hold back any longer.

"Mione…" He begged, his eyes squinted shut.

She groaned and writhed upward against his probing fingers.

"I'm ready," She panted, "Please."

Sirius wasted not a second in pulling away his hand. Fixing his eyes upon her own, dark with lust, he positioned himself at her opening and in a long sleek motion, he penetrated her hot moistness. He pushed himself in all the way… she was so tight, he repeated to himself.

Hermione cried out at the sensation of finally being filled by him at long last. Arching her back, her lithe body was flush against his and he was granted further access into her depths.

He emitted a growl and began thrusting smoothly yet feverishly in and out of her. She bucked her hips to meet each thrust and cried out in delight as his shaft rubbed her most sensitive spot over and over again.

She wrapped her legs around his waist once more leaving nothing to obstruct his path as he drove into her again more deeply.

It started slowly… the warm, tingling sensation from their point of convergence… that spread through her abdomen… tickled her and sent a burning ecstasy racing through her shuddering body.

"Oh God, Sirius!" She cried aloud. She dug her fingernails into his broad shoulders as he pushed her over the edge of elation.

As the waves of pleasure overtook Hermione, her warmth tightened around his manhood and Sirius squeezed his eyes shut as he felt his own climax take control. His release was cathartic and he bit her shoulder to keep from calling out her name as he spilled himself into her, his entire being trembling.

A month was far too long to detain himself from such heaven.

He collapsed on top of her and rested his forehead on the pillow as the both lay panting, their bodies dewed with sweat of invigoration and bliss.

After a moment, he pulled himself out of her and rolled heavily onto his back beside her in his bed.

She inched towards him and framed his muscular body with her own, resting her head on his shoulder as she traced her fingers along his chest. Her golden wedding band glistening slightly in the vague glow of the street lights outside, catching Sirius' eye.

Sirius licked his lips and looked away, but pulled her more tightly against his side while reminding himself for the hundredth time that he ought not care about the offending jewelry. They had sworn long ago that this liaison would not progress beyond their own physical needs.

He breathed deeply and closed his eyes, allowing himself to find solace in the soft, slumbering breath of the woman he knew he was falling in love with.

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Miles away, Draco lay awake in his own bed, troubled thoughts racing through his mind. A floo from his wife's mother moments ago, had opened his eyes to what he had long suspected. His wife had been lying to him… and he hadn't a clue where she was.

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**Le****t me know if you would like this to continue. **** Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER – All things Harry Potter are property of JK Rowling.**

**A/N: ** Wow. Thank you all so much for your input and encouragement. As you can see, I have decided to continue this story beyond a one-shot. I hope you'll like what's in store for our beloved characters.

**Warning– **More Smut. Beware.

**Chapter Two.**

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The dawning sky was a gloomy grey when Sirius awoke, the frost on the glass a clear sign that it had snowed during the night.

He turned his head when Hermione shivered beside him in her sleep. Sirius pulled the heavy woolen blanket up over her and gathered her close to him to warm her, feeling the rise and fall of her chest with each breath.

Shaking his head he stared up at the ceiling in quiet discontentment. He knew he should wake her. She would need to return home soon… to her husband, he thought bitterly.

Just as she had been doing for the past two years. For two years they had maintained the secrecy of their hidden trysts. The only spoken rule between them had been that it should always remain free of emotional ties.

'It will be much easier this way,' Hermione had said matter-of-factly.

Sirius always smiled when he thought back to that day… their first time together. Hermione could not do anything without planning it out rationally first… even engage in an extra-marital affair.

Neither Sirius nor Hermione had ever imagined that the relationship would still be enduring two years later, but here he found himself, waking up beside her once more. And he hated it. He wished he could just fall back into sweet ignorant sleep rather than knowing that she counted on him to rouse her so she could apparate back home to Malfoy Manor.

It was not long into the first year of their affair when Sirius had realized that his mounting feelings for Hermione were beginning to trespass into their forbidden affair. They had agreed that they would call it off at once should emotions encroach upon their 'solely physical relationship' but the discovery of his feelings had led him to follow a different path.

He knew that he could never have her for his own, after all, she was a married woman. He would never have her heart but he _could_ have her physically and though it pained him day and night to know that he was forced to share Hermione, it was the only solution he could imagine. Losing her entirely was not an option.

So, he masked his true feelings from the bright, young witch and allowed her to continue to believe that their relationship was free from any strings attached. It was the only way he could keep her.

The only person with whom he had shared his recklessness and indignity was Remus, the oft ignored voice of reason in Sirius' mind. Remus could not understand why, when Sirius could surely have his choice of any woman he desired, he would, of his own volition, engage in an affair with the wife of one of the most powerful men in the wizarding world.

There was no proper answer to that concern. Sirius himself could not fathom the reasoning behind his irrational decision.

Hermione stirred beside him, drawing him out of his thoughts.

She breathed deeply and wrapped an arm around Sirius' waist, pulling herself close enough to warm her naked body with his natural heat.

He rubbed her back with his strong hands when she shivered again. The cold did not impede her desire however, when she began kissing his chest languidly.

"What time is it?" She asked quietly into his chest between kisses.

Sirius could feel himself growing aroused at her attention but managed a cogent thought to say, "Nearly six."

He reached over and effortlessly lifted her so she lay on top of him.

Still not ceasing her illicit kisses, she distractedly answered, "I should be going."

Sirius cupped her face in his hands, tilting it so she was looking right at him, traces of sleep still upon her features. He searched the depths of her chocolate brown eyes as he did every time they awoke together… always hoping that that morning, he would find something more than pure lust shining back at him.

Not today, it seemed. He was disappointed yet again… but he would not allow her to leave just yet.

"You are not going anywhere," He said in a husky voice before bringing his lips to hers in a soul-stirring kiss.

Hermione whimpered into him, caught off guard by the sensual harmony with which he kissed her. Sirius showed no signs of ceasing and he wouldn't until she returned the act of affection regardless of the sincerity of the emotion behind it. Raking her fingers through his silken hair, she began to kiss him back, matching his unhurried intensity. She adjusted herself so that her knees rested on the bed on either side of his hips, pressing his rising manhood against her.

Sirius moaned throatily and moved his hands from her face to grip her hips. She rocked her body against his sensitive skin until neither of them could bear it for another instant.

He raised her up as she positioned herself over him and with painstaking self-control, she inched herself down and slowly took his length entirely within her.

She stopped momentarily as her tightness enveloped him completely. Sirius' strengthened his clasp of her hips and he pressed his head back into the pillow, exhaling deeply as he savored this feeling.

Gently he began to guide her body back and forth, positive that there was no better way than this to greet the day. Following his lead, Hermione began to take over, bracing herself on his chest she increased her tempo and trembled as she felt the familiar warmth begin to spread throughout her.

Aware that Hermione was approaching her climax and wanting this to last, Sirius wrapped an arm around her and brought her mouth down on his. He softly moved her onto her back without ceasing their union or skipping a beat, he began moving in and out at an agonizingly slow pace with an appetite to please her.

Somewhere in the back of his mind Sirius believed that by willing every ounce of his strength towards granting Hermione such extreme pleasure, that maybe he could change her mind and she wouldn't ever leave.

Leaving was the furthest thing from her mind at the moment, though.

Hermione succumbed to the divine satisfaction and lost all sense of inhibition as she threw her head back and let his name escape her lips in a breathless cry.

Their meetings were typically rushed and frenzied, both eager to satisfy themselves and each other without a moment to lose.

But this, Hermione thought feeling dizzy from the immense delight, this was beyond anything she had felt before. It was almost as though their very souls were mingling and they had become one.

She gasped as he kissed her neck, his steamy breath tingling her skin. Sirius shuddered as she ran her fingers up and down his back in a feather-light touch.

"Sirius… I'm close," She sighed, when the blinding ecstasy took full control of her, struggling for release.

He lowered his body down so he was completely flush against her and wove his hands into her long brown hair.

"Look at me, Hermione," He said hoarsely.

She opened her eyes to gaze up at him and was immediately captivated by their affecting strength. His eyes shone brightly with pleasure, desire and… something else that she could not comprehend. All the while he never stopped his torturous, slow pace though she could not tear her eyes away, even when he sent them both over the edge in earth-shattering surrender.

As they rode the final waves of pleasure, Sirius captured her mouth one final time. Hermione thought she heard him mumble something against her lips but she couldn't be sure.

They held one another close in silence for a long while after. Hermione knew that she ought to have left long before, but for some reason, that particular morning she found she didn't want to go.

Maybe it was the mysterious entity she had witnessed in Sirius' eyes… or perhaps it was the fact that he had just pleasured her as he never had before in the two years of their relationship. For once, she did not know the answer and as disconcerting as that was, she did not wish to dwell on it.

Sirius' body had relaxed beside her as he had fallen back to sleep. Hermione slid away from him slowly as not to wake him and began collecting the discarded articles of clothing that had been scattered about the room the night before. She dressed in total silence and began to rush when she noticed that it was no longer dawn, but full daylight now.

She cursed herself silently for being so irresponsible… not only would she now be late for work but Draco would have a dozen questions as to where she had been all morning.

Hermione sighed as she took one final look around the room for anything she may have missed and walked quietly to the door. On an impulse, she stopped and walked back to the bed where her lover lay sleeping, exhausted from his unyielding passion.

She stroked his forehead softly and placed a long, chaste kiss upon his brow.

Taking one last lingering look at his sleeping form, she left the room, closing the door lightly behind her.

Sirius opened his eyes when he heard the door shut. The familiar disappointment that enveloped him when she would return home flooded his body along with a new sensation, anger. He had been vulnerable and he was never vulnerable. He had exposed his weakness… and he knew she had noticed. She was so transparent at times that it was as though he could read her very thoughts. Yet, she had still gone. Sirius found it infuriating.

He sat up and ran his fingers through his hair roughly. Emitting a low growl, he grabbed a glass from his bedside table and hurled it at the opposite wall where it smashed into a thousand tiny pieces.

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**Please continue to review. You guys are great!**


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER – All things Harry Potter are property of JK Rowling.****  
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**A/N: **Thank you for your reviews! If you guys like the story, I'll keep it going so be sure to let me know what you think!

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**Chapter 3.**

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Draco Malfoy emerged from the vast walk-in closet he shared with his wife carrying an expensive dark blue button down dress shirt that he had selected to wear that day. He stopped in front of the lengthwise mirror and slowly pulled on the shirt, taking his time fastening the buttons one by one.

He was stalling. His wife had never come home the previous night and though it certainly was not the first time that had happened, it _was_ the first time that he had been provided with unequivocal evidence that she hadn't been where she claimed to have gone. Usually when she left for the night, she would return before he awoke but it was now nine o'clock in the morning and she still hadn't returned.

He wished he was angry, in truth, part of him was… part of him was seething… but that sliver of anger was eclipsed by worry. Anger was no longer part of who Draco Malfoy was. The war and all the darkness he had seen in his young life had taught him that there was no sense in dwelling on resentment. And when he had married Hermione Granger, it reinforced his desire to change the way he saw the world. They had been young and carefree in the wake of the battle, reveling in their innocence.

Walking over to his nightstand, he pulled open the drawer and removed a tarnished silver photo frame. Sinking onto the bed, he gripped the ornate frame between his hands and gazed at the photo it held as he often did when he was alone.

The photo was taken at the beginning of their marriage. He hadn't the faintest idea whose camera had captured the moment but he vividly remembered the day. Hermione had dragged him along to the Weasley's home for Ginny's seventeenth birthday party. He had been invited, of course; as Hermione's husband, the Weasleys and even Harry Potter had tentatively but graciously welcomed him into their extended family, but he had been incredibly awkward at first.

As the large group of family and friends had chorused a laughable rendition of _Happy Birthday_, Hermione had taken Draco's hand in hers to relax him, sensing his degree of alienation. He had leaned down to kiss her softly and rested his forehead against hers when somewhere among the chatter, a camera flash had gone off.

A week later, Hermione had presented him with the idyllic photo in the beautiful silver frame.

Draco watched over and over again as the Draco in the photo caressed his wife's cheek and kissed her softly as she beamed up at him, resting one hand upon her visibly pregnant belly.

Draco's reminiscence was disturbed suddenly when the stillness of Malfoy Manor was upset by a loud echoing crack announcing an apparated arrival in the foyer two floors below.

Draco looked up from the photo as Hermione dashed into their bedroom. She nearly ran right past him when his voice stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Good morning, Mrs. Malfoy," He greeted her routinely, the same way he had every morning for the past three years.

Hermione spun around, genuinely shocked to see him.

"Draco! Why aren't you at the office?" She asked, slightly out of breath from running up two flights of stairs.

Draco watched her silently for a moment and set the picture frame down upon the bed.

"I was a bit worried that I hadn't heard from you since you left to your parent's house last night," He said. That was entirely true.

Hermione wrung her hands guiltily.

"I'm sorry to have worried you," She answered, noticing the bags under his eyes indicating that he probably had not slept. "You weren't up all night, were you?"

Draco smiled at her, a barely perceptible sadness traced his features.

"Not all night, no," He lied. In truth, he had not slept a wink, tossing and turning for hours, he had eventually retreated to his study to use the small hours of the morning to complete some paperwork for the Ministry. "But as I ended up getting quite a bit of work done during the hours that I was awake, I thought it best that I wait here until I knew you had arrived home safely. I had half a mind to floo your parents to look in on you."

Hermione jumped, lunging towards the bed. "You didn't!" She gasped.

He shook his head calmly. "No, I didn't."

Hermione exhaled with enormous relief, her heart was racing though. For a moment she had assumed the worst.

"But you are awfully late getting home this morning," He continued, her reactions were succeeding in filling in the missing pieces to thoughts he had hoped never to encounter in his marriage. "You are going to be late getting to work."

His wife nodded. "Yes, I… overslept," She lied quickly, rummaging through her drawers for a fresh change of clothes.

Draco absentmindedly traced his finger along the edge of the photo frame as he watched Hermione disappear into the bathroom. She came back a few seconds later to hastily grab her bathrobe when she stopped to see what Draco was holding.

Craning her neck to look across the bed, Draco tried to conceal the ornate metal within his hands but she immediately recognized the frame and knew what it was.

Her expression hardened and she looked back up at him.

"Where did that come from?" She asked quietly.

Draco did not answer. He looked from the radiant Hermione in the photo to the toughened and worn version of his wife who stood before him now, amazed at the difference three years could make.

Hermione snatched up her robe and walked towards the bathroom. Before closing the door behind her she stopped with her back to him and said with finality, "Get rid of that photograph, Draco... please."

The door clicked shut as Hermione pressed her back against the barrier between herself and the life she tried so desperately to forget. Crossing to the tub, she turned on the faucet allowing the steaming water to sting her fingers as the bath slowly filled, the dull thundering sound of water on porcelain drowning out her muffled sobs.

On the opposite side of the bathroom door, Draco tucked his most precious possession far back into his nightstand drawer. He would never be able to bring himself to part with it.

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**A/N: **The chapters will be longer from here on. Please review!

Thank you all so much for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER – All things Harry Potter are property of JK Rowling.**

**A/N: **I was completely blown away by all of the amazing reviews! You guys are so fantastic and I love writing this story for you all. Thank you to Anasella Emm for being my counselor through this chapter.

**Warning: **This chapter has quite a bit of angst/sadness and I apologize but it had to be done.

**Chapter 4.**

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Hermione heard a soft knock at the bathroom door and turned the faucets to cease the flow of steamingwater pouring into the nearly full tub. 

"Yes?" She answered, dipping her fingers into the hotwater to test the temperature.

"I'm leaving for the office." Draco's deep, even voice came through the door.

Hermione perched on the edge of the tub and tied her long curly hair back in a knot.

"Alright," She replied.

He did not answer immediately and Hermione wondered if he had gone. 'That's odd,' She thought as disappointment settled over her.'He has never left for work without saying-'

"I love you, Hermione," she heard Draco's muffled voice finish her thought.

She smiled softly to herself, wiping away the remnants of her tears. Hermione stood and walked towards the source of his voice, her bare feet silent on the stoneground. She leaned against the door and traced a pattern in the wood with her finger.

"I love you too, Draco."

Draco leaned off the door frame, with a small smile upon his tired face, brushing his fingers lightly down the grooves in the cherry wood door before walking away.

Hermione flung the bathroom door open to apologize for the hurtful comment she had made earlier but the moment she did, Draco shut the bedroom door behind him as he departed, unaware of her intention.

Turning back to her bath, in an air of dejection, the rising steam already soothed her nerves. She stripped off her clothes and stepped slowly into the intensely hot water. Sinking into the tub inch by inch to allow her body to adjust to the temperature, Hermione leaned back into the water and winced when the blistering water stung her shoulder.

Looking down, she recognized the telltale imprints of a bite mark and she vaguely recalled Sirius clenching his teeth over her shoulder in a moment of passion the previous night. It had formed a bruise now but the water still singed the sensitive skin.

She tilted back further until her body was submerged from the neck down, gifting her aching muscles by releasing their tension with the therapeutic bath.

But her worries did not fade… nor would they, as she knew all to well. There wasn't a bath hot enough to ease her mind.

She had been careless to come home so late in the morning. But Draco could never be angry with her, though part of her wished he would be. A large part of her actually, yearned for him to be furious and shout and say horrible things, she would deserve all of it, every nasty word, each insult.

If her husband would punish her for her transgressions, it would, perhaps, right some of her wrongs.

No. Even as the thought crossed her mind she knew it wasn't true. Nor was it right. Nothing could ever redeem her for her sins now. Her only semblance of atonement was that she did all in her power to spare Draco from finding out about her affair.

As long as Draco didn't find out about Sirius, it would be ok, she repeated to herself as she had so many mornings. As long as Draco didn't find out, he would not be hurt.

In sincere honesty, the last thing she would ever want to do was hurt Draco.

She loved him completely and she told him so every morning as he would leave for work.

So as long as he didn't know what she had done, he would be safe from pain.

Safe from additional pain anyways. They had seen so much suffering already in their lives that anymore would be unbearable.

Closing her eyes and drifting further down into the floating abyss of the tub, her mind drifted, as it often did, to happier times.

It was hard to believe looking at her life now, that she and Draco had once been so blissfully happy. Even more difficult to comprehend was the fact that it had happened by mere chance. Hermione used to romantically envision that it had all been manipulated by the hands fate, two star-crossed lovers, brought together by war and bound by destiny.

Childish fantasies, she thought bitterly. It seemed a lifetime ago that she had allowed such notions to impede upon her inherently analytical mind.

Hermione didn't believe in fate anymore. She didn't believe in anything anymore.

Nearly four years earlier, the epic battle had taken place. Harry Potter had, as prophesized, defeated Voldemort. Hermione still remembered that jubilant feeling, the rush of adrenaline, joy and passion that had permeated the entire wizarding world after the fall of the Dark Lord.

Harry, finally free from his life as a 'marked man', was able to fall in love with Ginny, properly.

Ron met and fell head over heels for Fleur's beautiful cousin, Adrienne.

And Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger had come together in one night of explosive love-making that shed them both of years filled with torment and pain. The past was forgotten. They had thrown all caution to the wind as they found solace and ecstasy in the other; mind, body and soul.

The _Daily Prophet_ reported that there had never been such an influx of weddings in such a short span of time as couples, young and old, celebrated the demise of the darkest wizard of all time by making vows for their futures.

Indeed, Draco and Hermione had been among them. They held hands and gazed into the other's eyes as they recited promises to each other; promises of hope, of happiness and of love for the child that Hermione was carrying.

The baby was unplanned, the result of their one night of carefree rejoicing. The one and only time Hermione had ever done anything reckless. She hadn't wanted to tell him about the pregnancy at first. After all, they had been together just the once but there she had found herself, at his doorway, two months later, staring into his surprised features.

So vividly she remembered Draco's reaction when he found out he was going to be a father. She had informed him plainly, free from expectation; she merely felt he ought to know.

As the words left her mouth though, an awe- struck smile had spread across his face and his eyes welled with tears she did not think him capable of. He had dropped to his knees and hugged her tightly around the waist and began to cry. He clung to her and he wept, murmuring cherished words to their child growing within her.

A lifetime of regrets were shed that day as Draco swore that his child would never know suffering, nor cruelty or darkness. His child would have the life that he had been denied.

Hermione fell in love with Draco that day and from that moment on, they were never apart.

It had been far from simple in the beginning. Her parents, Harry, Ron and countless others had questioned her sanity and reason, unwilling to believe that she and Draco Malfoy had conceived a child together. Indeed, Draco's parents were none too pleased themselves. But Hermione and Draco had remained strong in their convictions and soon those that loved them realized that, indeed, people could change for the better, and blessings were bestowed upon them by many.

They were married on the twenty-ninth of May in a small ceremony at the Ministry; Hermione, barely showing at three-months, and Draco, striking in dress robes, vowed their love and loyalty to one another as their parents and friends looked on.

It truly was the happiest day of their lives.

Malfoy Manor was presented to the couple by Lucius and Narcissa as a wedding gift. They, too, were now free of Lord Voldemort's reign and chose to retire in France, far away from the raised-brows and judgments that came with their last name's long association with the Dark Lord.

Hermione had been offered an amazing position in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry. She delighted in knowing that she would be able to make a difference in their world, creating a better future for her unborn child and the thousands of others that would be born to the survivors of the war.

The Auror Department had been inundated with hundreds of applications by ambitious young witches and wizards inspired by the heroics of Harry Potter et al. Of course, only the very best had been accepted into the rigorous training program. Nymphadora Lupin, Head Auror, had eventually taken on a group of ten determined individuals, among them: Harry, Ron, Draco and Dean Thomas.

And so Hermione and Draco began their life together.

They decorated the baby's room in vibrant emerald green and gold, not knowing whether it would be a boy or a girl. They each said they would be thrilled with either so long as it was healthy and happy, though they both secretly wished for a boy. They playfully bickered over their preferred names for the baby and guessed whom the child would most resemble. Hermione hoped that the child would have Draco's straight nose and flawless smile while Draco wanted the baby to have his wife's chocolate brown eyes and superior intelligence. And in between all of the excitement, they poked fun at the enormity of Hermione's ever growing belly.

She had never laughed so much as she did during those few wonderful months. Everything she thought she never wanted, she had... and she could not have been happier. Whether it was fortune or fate, she did not know, but it was perfect. Completely and utterly perfect.

Until the day Hermione's world came crashing down.

Her baby… their baby, arrived unexpectedly, two months too soon.

There wasn't anything the healers could do.

Their baby died.

He.

_**He **_died.

It was a boy.

Lukewarm water sloshed over the side of the tub as Hermione awoke abruptly, coughing up water and gasping for air. She had fallen asleep... fallen asleep and dreamt of a tragic past that she could never escape.

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Draco rubbed his hands together to generate warmth as he strode through the doors of the Ministry's Auror Headquarters shrugging off his heavy winter coat. He hung it on the rack near the door and walked into his office, settling at his desk in preparation of another long day of safeguarding the wizarding world. 

"Morning, Malfoy," yawned a familiar voice from the doorway.

Draco rotated around in his chair and smiled tiredly at his red-headed co-worker.

"Morning, Weasley. Anything come in yet?"

Ron stretched his arms over his head and yawned once more.

"Not yet. We had one call about a possible dementor attack in Surrey but it sounded a bit bogus. Dean's gone to look in on it though."

"What about the Boy Wonder?" Draco said in jest. Though the animosity of their younger days had been left in the past, they did still enjoy the fair bit of friendly mockery.

Ron smirked at the joke.

"He'll be in after lunch. Tonks gave him the morning off to spend with Ginny and the baby."

The faint smile that had graced Draco's face melted away. It wasn't that he was not pleased for Harry and Ginny, he was. If ever two people deserved to be happy, they were Harry and Ginny Potter. Well, three now, including baby James, who had been welcomed into the world six weeks prior. But it was admittedly tough to watch as his friends realized their dreams while his own had been shattered.

"Ah, Right. The baby," Draco nodded. "How is your nephew doing?"

Ron rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly having noticed Draco's reaction to the comment.

"He's great. Looks just like Harry except for the red hair," He answered with a subtle laugh.

"He didn't even have hair yet when I saw him a few weeks ago and already it's red?" Draco mused, forcing himself to be happy for his friends. "Bloody Weasleys."

"Harry said the same thing," Ron chuckled lightly. He sat down in a chair before Draco's desk and in a more somber tone went on to say, "Mum and Dad are having a party next week. They want everyone to meet the baby and it's also the fourth anniversary of the end of the war. They'd love it if you and Hermione could come."

"It's been four years already, has it?" Draco wondered aloud, amazed at how much had happened in those years. "Thank you for the invitation. I'll speak to Hermione about it."

"Great," Ron said sincerely. "Er… how is she doing? Harry mentioned that she hasn't been by to see James yet. She's alright, isn't she?"

Ron thought Draco seemed to age ten years in the long silence that followed his question. Draco considered an answer, this was one of his wife's best friends and he deserved an honest response.

"I don't know," Draco confessed.

When he didn't elaborate, Ron nodded in understanding. Hermione had built an unwavering façade of stability after the loss of her baby and, though he and Harry could see right through it, no one was sure how she would react when confronted with baby James.

Ron stood and circled Draco's desk, clapping his hand on his friend's shoulder, in a silent display of support. Draco offered a tight-lipped smile as Ron exited the office.

Once he was alone, Draco leaned back in his black leather desk chair and slowly spun around scanning the walls of his office. Slightly bare, though they were, he had come to find security in this small room, his sanctuary of sorts. His walls lacked the abundance of photographs that were commonplace in the offices of his co-workers, he had only one photo on his desk of he and Hermione taken at Harry and Ginny's wedding, but he had a few framed documents proudly displayed; his Hogwarts diploma, the Certificate of Completion for Auror training, and a certificate commending him on his 'exemplary contribution to the Ministry'.

He had worked hardest for that last one. He had sacrificed the most for it as well.

The honor had been presented nearly three years ago to both he and Harry for having solved one of the great unknowns within the Department of Mysteries, the veiled archway. Harry, having earned enough accolades for one lifetime, had seen to it that Draco received official credit for the now legendary accomplishment.

Draco had humbly accepted. It was only with months upon months of tiresome research that he had stumbled upon the answer. He had intended to formulate a derivative of Polyjuice Potion that would work for a longer duration with a lesser dose when a mishap in he and Harry's calculations lead them down an entirely different path. In the end, Draco was able to determine the correct combination of their erroneously invented potion, a modified Reanimation Spell, and the perfect lunar positioning that would achieve what no one before them had.

They brought Sirius Black back from beyond the veil.

After three long years of loss without closure, Harry Potter was reunited with his beloved Godfather and Draco was able to connect with a cousin he had never been given the chance to know. And once more, the wizarding world celebrated.

The Ministry saw to it that Sirius' name was cleared. He was a free man who had just been given a second chance at life.

The joyous occasion when Sirius was welcomed back into the world, greeted by family, friends and complete strangers, as well, was bittersweet for Draco as the months of research had come at the detriment of his marriage.

After the loss of his child, he had purposefully thrown himself into his work. Unable to bear being at home in the deafening quiet that separated he and his wife as though parted by an entire ocean, he spent all of his time shut inside his office, despite the insistence of co-workers that he take some time off to heal. But he refused. He could not enter Malfoy Manor without some part of him expecting to hear the sounds that come along with having a new baby; crying, laughter… but those most desired sounds wouldn't come. So, Draco chose to remain at work.

When he was home, Hermione was silent and stoic. If company came, often his in-laws, Harry or the Weasleys, Hermione would plaster a feigned smile upon her face and put on an award worthy performance in her attempt to convince everyone that she was perfectly fine.

That fake smile sickened him. And it sickened him that he felt sickened, that he wasn't strong enough to speak to his wife, to protect her, or to urge her to overcome their tragedy together.

He would lie awake in bed at night, aware that Hermione too was wide awake beside him, but he would not reach out to her. For a long time he stopped joining his wife in their marital bed altogether, choosing instead, one of the guest rooms. Though, rather than sleeping, he would often find himself sitting in darkness in the empty nursery on those nights. For some unknown reason, it seemed only there he could grieve, in the forgotten room where time stood still.

He would sit back in the hand-carved wooden rocking chair that he had looked forward to occupying while reading to his child. He would take in the unfinished gold paint on the walls, the paint brushes discarded on the table, the empty crib… and he would cry. Full bodied sobs that hurt and healed at the same time.

It was here that Draco mourned.

Their son had been laid to rest beneath a grave marker bearing the name, 'Baby Boy Malfoy', as Hermione had sorrowfully refused to impart a name on their deceased child. Draco hated to think of his son, lying there, nameless. Indeed, during those dark hours spent in the vacant nursery, Draco had named his son.

Theodore.

It meant 'Gift from God'.

Draco had never been a religious man but that all changed the day he learned Hermione was pregnant and he could not think of a more deserving title for his child.

Theodore Lucius Malfoy.

He had never managed to reveal this to Hermione.

Those were dark months for Draco. Awake by night in the baby's room and awake by day in his office, all the while he felt that he was dying on the inside and withdrawing further and further away from his wife. But Sirius' return had awoken something within him.

He knew that nothing would ever bring their child back but what he did realize was that it wasn't too late for he and Hermione to move on. They were still so young, their lives still ahead of them.

But by the time he had finally come back to sleep in his own bed with Hermione, cut back his hours at work to join her for meals, and be a real husband again, it was too late. She had changed.

She still loved him but something inside of her was gone, the light that had shone so brightly from the vibrant young witch he had known was extinguished. And it was entirely his fault.

Draco sat up at his desk as a memo flew through the open door of his office, jolting him out of his memories. He sighed as he read over the assignment… back to work.

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